[Federal Register: May 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 88)]
[Notices]
[Page 26767-26769]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08my06-55]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DHS-2006-0017]
Privacy Act of 1974: System of Records
AGENCY: Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security.
ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of
Homeland Security is giving notice that it proposes to add a new system
of records to its inventory of record systems for Department of
Homeland Security General Training Records.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 7, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2006-0017, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: (571) 227-4171 (This is not a toll-free number).
Mail: Maureen Cooney, Acting Chief Privacy Officer, DHS Privacy Office,
Mail Stop C-3, 601 S. 12th Street, Arlington, VA 22202-4220.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this notice. All comments received will be posted
without change and may be read at http://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maureen Cooney, Acting Chief Privacy
Officer, Department of Homeland Security, by telephone (571) 227-3813
or facsimile (571) 227-4171.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the savings clause in the
Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296, section 1512, 116
Stat. 2310 (Nov. 25, 2002), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
and its components and offices have relied on preexisting Privacy Act
systems of records notices for the maintenance of records that concern
training of current and former Departmental employees, contractors, and
other individuals. See, e.g., CS.238, Customs Service Training and
Career Individual Development Plans and C.239, Customs Service Training
Records, last published on October 18, 2001 at 66 FR 2984.
As part of its efforts to streamline and consolidate its record
systems, DHS is establishing a new agency-wide system of records under
the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) for the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) General Training Records. This record system will allow all
component parts of DHS to collect and preserve training records under
one centralized system. The system will consist of both electronic and
paper records and will be used by DHS and its components and offices to
maintain records about individual training, including enrollment and
participation information, information pertaining to class schedules,
programs, and instructors, training trends and needs, testing and
examination materials, and assessments of training efficacy. The data
will be collected by employee name or other unique personal identifier.
The collection and maintenance of this information will assist DHS in
meeting its obligation to train its personnel, contractors, and others
in order to ensure that the agency mission can be successfully
accomplished.
The Privacy Act embodies Fair Information principles in a statutory
framework governing the means by which the United States Government
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates personally identifiable
information. The Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained
in a ``system of records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any
records under the control of an agency from which information is
retrieved by the name of an individual or by some identifying number,
symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual.
Individuals may request their own records that are maintained in a
system of records in the possession or under the control of DHS by
complying with DHS Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR 5.21.
The Privacy Act requires that each agency publish in the Federal
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system
of records in order to make agency recordkeeping practices transparent,
to notify individuals about the use to which personally identifiable
information is put, and to assist the individual to more easily find
files within the agency.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of
this revised system of records to the Office of Management and Budget
and to the Congress.
System of Records
DHS/All-003
System Name:
Department of Homeland Security General Training Records.
Security Classification:
Unclassified; sensitive.
System Location:
Records are maintained at several Headquarters locations and in
component offices of the Department of Homeland Security, in both
Washington, DC and field locations.
This system of records will cover:
1. Any individual who is or has been an employee of DHS and who has
applied for, participated in or assisted with a training program;
2. Any other Federal employee or private individual, including
contractors and others, who has participated in or assisted with
training programs recommended, sponsored or operated by the Department
of Homeland Security.
Authority for Maintenance of the System:
The Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296, 6 U.S.C.
121; Federal Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 3101; 6 CFR Part 5; 5 U.S.C. app.
3; 5 U.S.C. 301 and Ch. 41; Executive Order 11348, as amended by
Executive Order 12107; and Executive Order 9397 (SSN).
Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
Current and former employees of DHS, volunteers and contractors;
other participants in training programs, including instructors, course
developers, observers, and interpreters.
Categories of Records in the System:
The system includes all records pertaining to training, including
nomination forms; registration forms; course rosters and sign-in
sheets; instructor lists; schedules; payment records, including
financial, travel and related expenditures; examination and testing
materials; grades and student evaluations; course and instructor
critiques; equipment issued to trainees and other training
participants; and other reports pertaining to training. Names and
social security numbers are included in these records. Records of
individuals who apply for but are not
[[Page 26768]]
accepted for training may also be included in this system.
Purpose:
This record system will collect and document training given to DHS
employees, contractors and others. It will provide DHS with a means to
track the particular training that is provided, identify training
trends and needs, monitor and track the expenditure of training and
related travel funds, schedule training classes and programs, schedule
instructors, track training items issued to students, assess the
effectiveness of training, identify patterns, respond to requests for
information related to the training of DHS personnel and other
individuals, and facilitate the compilation of statistical information
about training.
Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, including Categories
of Users and the Purposes of such Uses:
In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C.
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
A. When a record, either on its face on in conjunction with other
information, indicates a violation or potential violation of law,
whether criminal, civil or administrative, the relevant records may be
referred to an appropriate Federal, State, territorial, tribal, local,
international, or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate
authority charged with investigating or prosecuting such a violation or
enforcing or implementing such law.
B. To a Federal, State, tribal, local or foreign government agency
or professional licensing authority in response to its request, in
connection with the hiring or retention of an employee, the issuance of
a security clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an employee,
the letting of a contract, or the issuance or status of a license,
grant, or other benefit by the requesting entity, to the extent that
the information is relevant and necessary to the requesting entity's
decision on the matter.
C. To the news media and the public where there exists a legitimate
public interest in the disclosure of the information or when disclosure
is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of the Department
or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of the Department's
officers, employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to
the extent it is determined that release of the specific information in
the context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
D. To the National Archives and Records Administration or other
federal government agencies in records management inspections conducted
under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
E. To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, students, and
others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative
agreement, or other assignment for the Federal Government, when
necessary to accomplish an agency function related to this system of
records.
F. To the Department of Justice or other Federal agency conducting
litigation or in proceedings before any court, adjudicative or
administrative body, when: (a) DHS, or (b) any employee of DHS in his/
her official capacity, or (c) any employee of DHS in his/her individual
capacity where DOJ or DHS has agreed to represent the employee, or (d)
the United States or any agency thereof, is a party to the litigation
or has an interest in such litigation, and DHS determines that
disclosure is relevant and necessary to the litigation.
G. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
H. To educational institutions or training facilities for purposes
of enrollment and verification of employee attendance and performance.
I. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purposes of
performing authorized audit or oversight operations.
J. To the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Merit Systems
Protection Board, Office of the Special Counsel, Federal Labor
Relations Authority, or Office of Personnel Management or to
arbitrators and other parties responsible for processing any personnel
actions or conducting administrative hearings or appeals, or if needed
in the performance of authorized duties.
K. To the Department of Justice or a consumer reporting agency for
further action on a delinquent debt when circumstances warrant.
Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining,
and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage:
Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in
secure facilities. The records are stored on magnetic disc, tape,
digital media, and CD-ROM, and may also be retained in hard copy format
in secure folders.
Retrievability:
Data may be retrieved by the individual's name, Social Security
Number, other personal identifier.
Safeguards:
Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being
stored. Access to the computer system containing the records in this
system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the
information for the performance of their official duties and who have
appropriate clearances or permissions. The system maintains a real-time
auditing function of individuals who access the system.
Retention and Disposal:
Records are maintained and disposed in accordance with National
Archives and Records Administration General Records Schedule, No. 1.
System Manager(s) and Address:
The records are maintained at the Headquarters offices of the
Department of Homeland Security in Washington, DC and in component
offices located in Washington and elsewhere.
Notification Procedure:
Individuals seeking notification and access to any record contained
in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content, may
inquire in writing to the DHS Privacy Officer at the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, Privacy Office, Arlington, Virginia 22202 or to the
respective DHS component or office where the records are maintained.
Record Access Procedure:
See ``Notification Procedure'' above.
Contesting Record Procedures:
See ``Notification Procedure'' above.
Information contained in the records is obtained from employees,
contractors, volunteers and others and from government and non-
government organizations and individuals that provide training to
agency employees.
Exemptions Claimed for the System:
Certain records in this system may be exempt on the basis of 5
U.S.C. 552a(k)(6) in order to preserve the
[[Page 26769]]
objectivity and fairness of testing and examination material.
Dated: April 28, 2006.
Maureen Cooney,
Acting Chief Privacy Officer.
[FR Doc. E6-6809 Filed 5-5-06; 8:45 am]
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